Zoetrope
by TallestCora
Summary: The other side of the coin. Tak collapses into a coma of night-terrors; the other half of "Hurting for a Very Hurtful Pain". To be read before Ch. 9 of "Intergalactic Beasties, Planetary People". Short-story. DATR


DISCLAIMER: Whoo-hoos! I own it, I own it!... Hah hah, just kiddings~! Had ya' goin', didn't I?

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This chapter is Tak's side of what happened when Dib collapsed in "Hurting for a Very Hurtful Pain". It's named after its theme-song, just because that seemed like the most fitting thing to name it. (Same thing with Dib's version of the story, huh?)

If you were ever curious as to what was going on in Tak's head, whelp, here's your chance to see it~!

* * *

 **"Zoetrope"**

* * *

The beeping continued on in Tak's ship, that incessant beeping. No one bothered or deigned to answer it, and Tak even seemed uninterested until the ship informed her of something even more important. {Uh, Sir?} It asked, slightly unsure that she was even paying attention, or if she was just ignoring everything.

"Yes?" Tak responded, obviously not ignoring everything. "What is it?"

{Why are we going to this evaluation?} The ship, Aunty Bellum, boldly asked.

"Because, the Control Brains suggested it," said Tak, turning her head to look to the side. "Man, it looks like Colonel Puffs is calling again... That's seriously like the fifth time since-" then she turned to look at another part of her control panels. "Ship, answer the call; I'll tell him to bug off for a while. I need my rest," she stated, and the ship wanted to mention that it was more than a month, perhaps two months, since she'd left, and that she would've had plenty of rest. But, she didn't. Instead, she did as she was told.

{Yes, Sir,} replied Aunty Bellum. In the first month, she'd gotten incredibly irritated that Tak wouldn't call her by her new name; and yet, it gradually faded away into a new sort of boredom game. Anything to pass the time. Tak sternly told Colonel Puffs off, stating that she couldn't make any other stops until her pressing business with the Control Brains was finished, and that he should try "delaying" a trip to see the Control Brains and see how well they take it! When he was sufficiently silenced, she almost winced as his pout reminded her of a certain someone...then she shook her head as she turned it off.

'That wasn't it...why couldn't it have been an IRKEN?!' Tak thought to herself as she sighed. 'That would've at least eased matters, if not...no, there's no use thinking about this. It's foolhardy and only going to make me depressed. Ulgh! I need a Dlonk,' she rifled around in the back, and, only finding purple-flavored Poop, she growled and then sighed to herself once again. The next stop, she definitely should stop by and get some Dlonk.

{The Dlonk is gone, Sir,} stated the ship's computer, {You've checked that stash for the last fifty times, and it wasn't there then, either!} Tak just groaned and leaned her head back. {The next place we stop should have some Dlonk, so don't worry!} Aunty Bellum seemed to hope that would cheer her up. Since they'd run out of it, Tak's mood had gotten a lot worse. It didn't help that she also had been questioning her about the reason for their departure, although neither Tolula nor any of the others seemed to know why they were really leaving. It almost wished it could physically sigh; but all it could do was imitate the noise it would make.

"Shouldn't've taken that stupid necklace..." Mumbled Tak as she closed her eyes. The ship's computer just seemed to blink -if it'd had eyes- and even Mimi seemed a bit surprised at this. She usually didn't just mumble to herself, unless she was trying to figure something out...and even then, she'd try to consult either the computers or Mimi, not just solioquy like Dib would've done if he were here.

{Uhhh...what?} Asked the ship's computer. Mimi also blinked and silently beeped this very same electronic reply to her verbal musings. Her reaction was so sudden, they both were shocked -and not with electricity.

"UUULLGGGHHH!" Screamed Tak, slamming her fists in frustration onto the control-panel. She knew that she'd made a mistake, and she shouldn't even be talking about this with anyone. Even just mentioning the necklace felt like a huge revelation of a plot-point. But, even still, they didn't get it; and she appreciated their ignorance even as she mentally scolded herself and verbally ranted unintelligible grunts.

"Man, I need some Dlonk," was all she said as she very briefly closed her eyes...but, unknown to the others, it was for a lot longer...

{She sure does like her Dlonk, eh, Mimi?} Asked the computer in silent electronic signals, not to disturb their master. Dlonk, the brand-name of a particularly well-selling product, was to Irkens like chocolate was to humans. Hence their interest in its apparent consumption.

{Yes, and she didn't used to turn to it every time she was upset,} replied Mimi electronically as well in her cute and tumble voice.

{Yeah, well,} sighed the computer, {Let's just hope that when we get to the Control Brains, all this will be settled and then we'll figure-} there was a sudden beeping from its control-panel. Mainly, the "Occupant Vital-signs Scanner". {Huh?! What the!?} Aunty Bellum shouted out loud.

{What's wrong!?} Exclaimed Mimi electronically -the only way she could communicate, actually- as she checked the control-panels as well. {That's -impossible! That's-!}

{OBVIOUSLY, as the old adage goes, "It's not impossible, just highly, highly improbable"!} Exclaimed Aunty Bellum as she scanned some more. They were obviously going to have to put her into the Medical Stasis chamber, just to be safe...and she and Mimi would have to monitor her condition constantly!...

Tak almost thought that she was floating, but she found herself afraid of where she was going, and soon found herself halfway between falling and standing still. As she tried to get a handle on what her senses were telling her, she recognized where she was and what it was, but just how in the infinite number of worlds and words did she get here?! Her spinning, stagnant fall was almost brought to a stand-still as another person, most definitely a person, was floating there beside her. She tried spinning around to face them, only to find that she could only do it when she didn't want to. That was irritating...

'CURSES, WHY DON'T YOU!...!' She started shouting, but was taken aback when she found her own words coming out of that other person's mouth!... 'Just...who...!' The rest of the sentence didn't form, because even as she'd said that, the words and pictures and visions began flowing into her head, and she began to understand just who it was standing before her. Well, she assumed that they both were standing, despite one of them -either herself or the other person- being upside-down. She soon fixed that.

She allowed herself to be righted as she focused on the subject at hand. 'Huh...personification of the necklace...?!' She asked, slightly accusingly. The person before her slightly nodded their head. 'Or, at the very least, what I think it is...?' The person before her nodded and then shook their head. The "almost" answer came just as smoothly over the edge as if she'd been thinking it.

The person before her resembled a pale, glowing sillhouette of a young human girl, or perhaps a woman, with long, straight hair, and a flowing, simple knee-length dress, with simple straps at the shoulders. Like the kind you'd see on a little girl or something. The girl wore no shoes, and no visible socks, and everything else about her was like that -simplicity itself. That simplicity itself was what had caught poor Tak off-guard.

'Personification based on the very first owner of the psychic necklace, and allowed subject to your specific consciousness: all must pass the first inspection test, the second is to state your name, please.' She finally stated. This weird little personification of the psychic necklace just stared there, waiting for an answer as Tak tried to comprehend this. It wasn't working very well.

'What do you mean, "First Inspection Test"? And shouldn't you already KNOW my name?!' Asked Tak incredulously. If this was the necklace that she was talking to, then it would already know what was in her mind! Wasn't that right?

The personification cocked her head. 'Personification is not same. The necklace has no sentience. What you are "speaking" with is a subconscious rendering of the necklace's stored psychic imprints.' The personification then sent her a wave of images of the last owners of the necklace, as though it were a slide-show. Various snap-shots flew through her mind, until she got the clue.

'You're not really here...!' Tak finally realized. 'The necklace stored the mental imprints of the prior owners like a hard-drive! You're just RAM... Then, why is it you seem to have your own free-will? Why is it you'll do things without my permission?!' The personification then cocked her head once again. 'I am what I am' flowed through her mind, and yet, she couldn't place it. They finally solidified.

'You passed the first inspection test. Your mind was compatible with the psychic template. The psychic template was first few owners' memories and usages of the necklace. Your mind and memories had the potential to become just like them... Your psychic potential was natural, but required use to draw it out and concentrate, to focus. Your own mind was clear and wise, able to see your own faults and better yourself because of them.' The personification paused, and then cocked her head to the other side. 'To put it simply, your own sub-conscious read the data, and reacted accordingly. The necklace "did" nothing.'

'You-' Tak gasped, reeling backwards in fright, 'You- You're lying! You're LYING!' She grasped her own head, 'You must've done something! YOU MUST HAVE!' The fear that had been just barely at bay inside her own mind, she realized, was revealing itself. Although she hadn't noticed it...

'You must not relinquish control of the necklace. Your mind cannot endure the strain of the forces of distance.' The personification stated, forcefully, yet clearly. 'Really. Please calm down. Please... You're only making things worse!' The personification's voice wavered and things cracked around them.

'Please...!' Tak was shouting to herself as she grabbed at her head. The cracks were gradually breaking apart, revealing a wavering, incomplete picture of what was behind it. The thing that was holding her in place cracked, sending her into a downwards spiral. 'Woops -too late.' It wasn't from her own mind, but it was. It was getting on her nerves, irritating...even as she fell.

'CUUUUUURRRSSE YOOOOOUUUUU!' She shouted as she fell. 'Why did you just curse yourself?!' Another part of her mind asked her. That was weird...she wasn't schizophrenic... '!' She yelled as she fell.

'What...!' She thought as she was falling. It was as if she was experiencing something which was so similar...! Wait a minute, where was- '!' Where WAS- 'He- he helped me before- he was the one-!'

The image came to her mind of him reaching out to her, as if she was falling once again, but in a previous, similar circumstance. His stubborness had saved her, reassuring and annoying, all at once...

She was too late in realizing what their mental cooperation was...! She was too much of a trained professional of a moron!... She was an Irken, after all... An unnatural, Genetically-modified, Modern Irken. And she couldn't do anything else except what she was told to, normally...even in exreme circumstances, she shouldn't have become attached to someone like that, not to mention an alien...!

She gasped as she reached out, in spite of realizing that it was just a memory... It was, after all, the only thing that had saved her that time! What a stupid idea, that psychic-tranceiving ring. She'd have to thoroughly curse herself, once she managed to find her way out of here. That stupid big head, where was he?!

In a weird reversal, she was suddenly floating. The scenes around her played out as if she was actually participating in them. She stopped feeling strange and took a deep breath.

Each time that a new scene played out she felt nothing out of the ordinary. Everything was as it should be. The various scenes that played continued on for at least an eternity, always ending in the same excruciating ways. There was never any change to the pattern, it was always just the same. And as the next scene played out, she breathed deely and took a look around, once more, for the innumered time...

This was the real world: this was normal...

The ship's console beeped; she reached out a hand to press it, aware that all of it had seemed like a passing nightmare. A fleeting thing. She was alright, even better than alright; she had a call coming in for her from a certain...huh. She couldn't make out what it said, but she knew right then who it was, all the same.

"Y-y-yes, Sir?" She asked the imposing face on the other end.

{Irken Janitorial Drone Tak,} greeted the Control Brain. {You are currently traveling to your Health and Fitness Evaluation on Planet Eiphlipble, correct?}

"Y-yes, Sir!" Replied Tak, trying her hardest to muster up the boldness to face this thing. 'After all, it shouldn't be that embarrassing, right?' She thought, 'Right?' As if to emphasize that he could sense her nervousness, the Control Brain replied.

{You will not need to come. I have just received word that because of the Shadow Irken Patriarch Skall of the Irken Empire's Monster House, The Patriarchy of the Jagzshuri-juri, you are to be given a small pardon in effect for your marriage to the Protector Prince of the Planet Earth's Monster House of the Matriarchy of the Phantom of the Moor, due to the Shadow Irken Patriarch Skall's impending marriage to their Crown Princess. Go back and complete your mission.} Tak's jaw just dropped as the Control Brain gazed back at her silently. Eventually, she worked up the nerve to say something.

"Yes, Sir..." The screen blinked off at her confirmation, and she still sat there, staring. She didn't have to go to her Health and Fitness Evaluation. She wouldn't get their tolerant Exile In-Irken verdict, or Death. She didn't have to die!

Just as she was inwardly tripping and tumbling over this new order, another call was coming in. "Hey, Tak! What's up?! You'll never guess what's just happened!" Came Dib's rather loud and excited voice, along with his big head. She wondered briefly why she hadn't heard Aunty Bellum or Mimi make any comments. Then she decided it was best if they didn't.

"Hi... I, uh...was just informed by the Control Brain..." Tak replied slowly but surely. Dib's big head was nodding up and down in excitement. It all felt so real, and yet, she still couldn't quite understand it...

"*Laugh* Yeah, it's just great! Hey, when will you be back?! I'm gonna' throw a party so you can meet the rest of the family!" Dib's reply was all excitement and merriment. She almost felt herself smile, but she changed it into a sardonic smirk.

"I'll be there in two months..." she blinked. When had she thought there was something weird about those words...? Oh, well, she could figure it out later. Much later...! More like, after she and Dib finally took down Zim!

"Great! I'll be lookin' forward to it! Then maybe we can lure out Zim?! I've got some great new ideas we can try out!" Dib was babbling on and on, like he usually did. And why not? With the exception of her sanity, there wasn't much else that it could hurt.

"Please, let's save it for when I'm actually there!" She replied, and then let herself laugh. How long had she gone without laughing? It was just too hard to think of what she'd been doing before she was there...! The reply she got from Dib stopped her personal ramblings and she looked back up.

"Alright, I suppose..." Dib was pouting now, but he didn't push the issue like he usually would. "I'll talk to you later, alright?!" He was still such an excited little big-head. It would've almost been cute. If she didn't know him at all.

"Right. And make it much later!" She replied sharply, but with a smile. He just pouted once more, but the screen turned off and she sat there a moment, before putting in the Earth's coordinates. She felt the ship slow out of hyper-space, turn around, and then shoot off at hyper-space speed again; this time to Planet Earth.

"Well, the only problem now is how much Dlonk I have left...!" She muttered under her breath, and then laugh when she realized she'd been talking to herself just like that big-headed Dib. She wondered where the other two were, just as one of them spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but we're still out of Dlonk," Mimi replied electronically.

{I'm sorry, too,} replied Aunty Bellum, non-electronically. {I have an idea! I'll do a scan around to see if there are any cargo or trading-vessels near our route!} Then the ship proceeded to do just that. {Yes!}

"What?!" Asked Tak and Mimi at exactly the same time. But in different ways, of course.

{There's a small ship of Traders from the planet Trade-ia! I'll contact them and see if they're carrying any Dlonk!}

"Good!" Replied Tak, waiting patiently. The few minutes that passed weren't that exciting.

Even still, Mimi was anticipating it when Aunty Bellum spoke up once more. "What?!" She asked electronically, in almost a shriek of excitement.

{Yes! They said that they have it~!} Sang Aunty Bellum in such a sing-song voice, that Tak even started to dance a little at the sound of it. Aunty Bellum hummed a happy little tune.

Even Mimi started a beboppin' to it!

Then something slammed into them. They immediately dropped out of hyper-space and waiting, trying to scan for whatever it was that had hit them when a shock caused them all to fly sideways. {We're being slowly dragged in towards that Trading-vessel! Oh, no, this is HORRIBLE! They're with the Resisty!}

"The RESISTY!?" Tak shouted, remembering that Dib had been somewhat affiliated with them. "Wh-wh-whaaaattt!" She screamed as she fell to the side. "Do they waaaant?!"

"Ah! I think I know!" Responded Mimi, as if she'd just figured it out. "They must've gotten word of the Control Brain's decision! They might have been tapping the signal, or maybe Dib let it slip...!" Tak grit her teeth at Mimi's response, even as she cursed Dib.

"Cuuurrssseee yooouuu~!" She shouted, reeling while the ship rocked again and again, finally sending them flying into the unknown...the next feeling was of a sudden weight, like she was lying down, only she was not. Then she was standing and staring up at a serene scene... The tower appeared like a blueish-white tint before her, even as the grayish shadows cradled it.

She turned around when someone spoke up. "So! This is the Planet Tower." It was Dib, and he was looking like his old self...wait, why wouldn't he have been? Oh, that was right! She finally remembered...

"Yes, it was a long time getting here." She replied as she turned back to look up at it once more. The scenery around her cleared, and she could see that they were standing in front of the famed Planet Tower on her home planet, Irk. It was just as it had been before. Nothing had changed. With the possible exception of the two that were about to go inside of it.

"Well, I guess we'd better get going, huh?" Said Dib as he turned to look at her, then at the entrance that was still so far away.

"Right, of course." Tak said as she let him lead the way inside Planet Tower. They didn't even need to stop by the security guards at the front gate; they just let them keep on walking until they got inside. "We're here." She said as she stared around at the fairly-famliar interior.

"They said that-" began Dib, but Tak finished for him.

"-We'll need to go to the Top Left Floor, yes, I remember," she said, smiling faintly at him. "It's okay, don't worry!" She looked toward the back of the lobby to find where the elevator-pads were located. There they were...!

"Wha-" began Dib, then he pouted and said, "I'm not worried! You're the one who's worried!"

"Am not!" Tak replied, grinning at his childishness. She also enjoyed playing with him, and as they continued toward an elevator-pad, their silly game continued.

"R Tooo!" Dib's annoying voice echoed throughout the large lobby as they whooshed upwards.

"Am not! You R!" Replied Tak, sticking her tongue out quickly before acting like she hadn't just been arguing like an eight-year-old.

"Hey! Look at me! I am not!" He tried to get her to turn her head back to him so that he could stick his tongue out at her, but she kept looking away, completely avoiding his big-headed tongue.

"No, way! No, way!" She said as she continued to evade him. All the while they were whooshing up the levels of Planet Tower. There really wasn't that far to go, and they were in a good mood. They were about to be immortalized in the Irken Database of Important Personages for their defeat of Zim and bringing the Resisty movement to a peaceful end. Then Tak would be declared an Invader! The tower around them shook, and they felt the artificial-gravity mechanism holding up their little platform beging to falter.

"Woa-ahh! Wooo-aahhh!" Tak hung onto Dib as the platform they were on tipped dangerously to one side. 'What just happened?!' She shouted in her head.

"What! H-hang on! Ho-oaah! To me!" Dib said as he glanced around. 'I think we're being attacked!' He thought back to her.

"WH-" just as Tak was about to think, 'That's dumb! The Resisty is done! Who would attack?!' the entire structure around them started to crumble. She could hear her bones creaking and her squiddily-spooch squashing as Dib fell away from her. She was being crushed by the thousands of tons of metal and other stuff that this Planet Tower was made of...and she couldn't stop her own voice from sceaming out loud.

The scene faded to a painful white, then gradually darkened until she found herself walking around about town on Earth. The scene was faintly reminiscent of something, but she couldn't recall what. Then someone came running up to her. They were big-headed, with a zig of a zig-zag hair-thingy swooshed back over the rest of his normally-formed hair, human alien kid. Dib stopped running and stood bent over, hands on his thighs, panting. "*Pant pant* Hey, *pant* What's up?!" He asked with excitement as he stared at her with gleaming eyes.

"Nooothing..." Tak drew out that first syllable because this entire thing was just so weird. It was like some kind of reoccuring dream! "What are you doi-" she was interrupted by Dib suddenly exclaiming.

"HEY! Guess what!? I finally figured out what Zim's been working on, and my COUSINS ARE COMING! WHEEE!" Dib blurted out. The scene was the exact copy of what had happened earlier in that same year: only, now, it seemed like she'd gone back in time and was able to do things differently...!

"Dib, I've got an idea!" Tak exclaimed, grabbing him by the arms so that he was held prisoner until she was finished, "I know this is gonna' sound strange, but let's just put it off until your cousins are already here!" She held a hand up at his attempt to interrupt her, "Yes, yes, I know~! You want to get to killing -er, capturing Zim now, don't you? But, we're going to need their help! Now, you said that your cousin, uh...Chewie, was it? was a Werewolf?" She stated, keeping things clear and concise for him. "Then, this is what we're gonna' do..."

"Wow! That's amazing! How'd you come up with something like that?!" Exclaimed Dib as he stared at her in admiration. "It's like...like you already know what's going to happen! But, wait! Where's the Whackiockpa pudding come in?!" She continued to explain, reciting every detail. Then they turned and went back to their homes, to wait until his cousins came.

"Alright; everybody know the plan?" Asked Tak once again. They were standing in the street outside of Zim's house, hiding down behind the fence, almost ready to begin. "Dib and I will go in first; Chewie will bring Pookie in after us, and Vannin will take care of any extra security that tries to get in their way. Everyone will keep a look out for either the Computer's security-systems or Mini-moose; and Chewie, Pookie, and Vannin? You three are responsible for taking them out as you come in, accordingly. Dib and I will try for a more discreet approach, but if we need to, I'll have Dib to use as a shield."

Dib gave her a quick nod and a thumbs-up; Vannin gave a more subtle one with a small cheer, although he didn't seem too sure about this; and Chewie replied with a, "Uh...yeah," completely revealing his own questioning thoughts. Pookie just looked around and poked at her Phonelet, then, while getting a busy-signal, she pushed something else.

The Phonelet she was holding beeped and she let out a, "Yesss!" before holding up a thumb to let them know that she was all ready to go.

Dib shifted in his armoured suit, and Tak knew that he didn't like the feel of it. Oh, well. She had to wear one, too, under her own outfit, so it didn't matter! He could shift all he wanted to; it was a close-fit, moveable armour, so what more could he ask for? The Psycho-Pyro Shield?! She almost laughed as she thought about it, but she quickly covered her mouth and waited for the chance. They waited a while, until GIR finally opened the door. Forget breaking in, this was much better!

"Come on, Dib!" Tak whispered for the sake of the others who couldn't hear her psychic commands. They rounded the edge of the fence and snuck inside, Dib handing GIR his bucket of ice-cream as he went by.

GIR just squeed happily and waved his arms at him.

Dib pointed out the hallway that led to an elevator, and she nodded. They crossed the living-room in relatively no time before coming to it. Then into the rather large elevator they went, where they waited a minute to the sounds of "Zenmaijikake no Komoriuta" played as elevator-music. The wait seemed to last an interminiable time.

"Finally! We're here!" Said Dib, before gasping and covering his mouth. Tak just rolled her eyes and pointed out where they needed to go. They crossed the lab and went through one of the hallways, then turned.

In the Making-stuff Room was Zim, working on something insane again. 'The experiment was a time-machine that could send a person back in time. I guess he forgot that he'd already tried that once, and it didn't work that time, either. It looks like it blew up on him. See? That's it in the corner!' Dib thought as he pointed to a corner where the once-partially-working-device was set aside.

Tak had looked at him in a queer moment of confusion when he'd said that Zim had "already tried that once". But she shook it off as she thought to him, 'He's working on something else, now. What should we do to get his attention?' She grinned as he gave the response she expected.

'What else would we do?' Asked Dib as he stepped out into the open and stomped up. As Zim's antenna perked up, Dib said, "HEY, ZIM!" He stood there, trying to look imposing, but all he really looked like was a boy.

"*Gasp* Dib!" Said Zim, then he shouted, "COMPUUTEE~ERRRR! Activate -" his shout was -amazingly- cut off as some screaming came from upstairs.

It was GIR. He was screaming his robotic lungs out and running around as Chewie gnawed on his antenna. The computer had his figurative hands full just trying to get past the security blocks that Pookie had somehow installed while he was watching the latest episode of his favorite Space Opera! And Mini-moose was currently in the middle of being hacked by Pookie herself, who held it in her arms and pressed a few places on its hide before twisting its legs around. Then the entire place erupted in smoke as GIR exploded, self-destructing.

"Sweet release..." faded into the background as the other sounds took their places.

Chewie was coughing, and had commenced in opening the windows. Pookie had managed to get Mini-moose to contact its creator and was currently conversing with the Vortian Prisoner, despite the smoke. Pookie gave the A-Okay sign to Vannin as he walked in, then tumbled down under the piling smoke and made it to the elevator Dib and Tak had used. He pulled out his phone and tracked them using the tracking-signal Tak had given to all three of them in advance.

Just as Dib and Zim were exchanging witty and clever reparte`, he came whirling around the corner with a blasting-shield force-field glowing around him. Zim shot at him and his shots were easily reflected back, causing Zim to duck. Tak at that point had snuck above him on the ceiling, and now jumped down, clasping him around the waist and injecting him with something. Zim's eyes wiggled before shutting down partially, as his PAK droned out about how his healing-stasis had be initiated.

"We have to get him into that tube before his PAK decides that he doesn't need it!" Shouted Tak. Vannin grabbed his phone and pressed a few buttons on it. Pookie's program instantly deactivated, freeing the computer. His voice sounded like he'd just woken up.

{Uh-ouhh! What?!} Asked the computer as it dawned on him what had happened. {Aww, darn-it! You guys defeated him and I didn't even get to watch!} Jorge just sighed as he reached back into his files for whatever Vannin was asking him to do.

"Don't worry, I recorded it for you," replied Tak with a bit of a wink, before the computer, Jorge, lowered down a cryogenic-hibernation tube for her to stick Zim in. The look on his face as he awoke before freezing to sleep was just priceless...!

"Dib, we've got everything under control," came Chewie's voice as Dib answered his beeping wrist-communicator.

"Cool! We've got Zim! Is it -" Dib paused until he saw Tak give him the go-ahead. "It's time to call the Swollen Eyeballs! Is everybody ready for some BIG PRESS?!"

The reaction from all of them was a resounding, "YEAH!"

They hauled the tube with Zim in it into the elevator, then reached the living-room just as it was almost aired-out completely, and the sounds of large, heavy vehicles were pulling up. "Hey, wait a minute, Dib...did you call them, yet?" Asked Tak as they turned to look out the door.

"It wasn't me!" Dib replied with a shrug of his shoulders. The others began to look worried as the people getting out of the vehicles and running up to the house looked anything but friendly. Tak adjusted her hologram to make sure it wasn't malfunctioning. Dib stood beside the cryo-hibernation tube and tried his best to look like he had some kind of authority. Vannin was swiftly done combing his hair, and Chewie pulled a hand through his and dusted off his shirt. Pookie held up the now-unfunctioning Mini-moose and stood up on the couch.

"THERE HE IS!" Shouted one of the people. It was apparently a member of some agency of Earth's government, probably the FBI or something. He was accompanied by another person, a member of the Swollen Eyeballs, and several others in-tow. "He's got the aliens!" One freaked-out look was all it took for Dib and Tak to convey thoughts.

"RUUUN!" Shouted someone. She couldn't tell if it was herself, Dib, Chewie, Vannin, or Pookie. But each one of them knew that this was not going according to plan. She could just kick herself for it. But, now was not the time. She ran and almost made it to the kitchen toilet when something hit her in the head. She was knocked down, hard. After hitting the floor and blanking out for a few dizzying moments, she was pulled back up, and she got a really good look at her assailants.

"That's not-" she was about to say, "fun", when she felt something like a thin piece of metal poking into her neck. Agent Dark Booty just stood there, grinning, as she went down. She felt like her mind and mouth were going numb as she faded into the dark. A light flickered on above her head.

As she blinked and opened her eyes, she could see that the field of graying whiteness stretched on forever, in all directions...! But, she couldn't get a good view of where she really was. Bah-bump. Bah-bump. There was an odd sound.

Bah-bump. Bah-bump. Bah-bump. Bah-bump. Then it seemed to get louder and increase in speed. She covered her ears, but it didn't quite help as much as she wanted it it. The scenery around her started turning gray-blue, but then gradually shifted into a gray-rose, before becoming magenta and then red. The pure red scenery made her relax a bit, but it didn't exactly make that "bah-bump" sound go away.

"That's not what-" the sounds of someone talking was slowly echoing in-between each of the "bah-bumps" until it ended in a crescendo of insane "bah-bumping" drum crashes, echoing down into the faded horizon so easily that it hurt her ears just to listen to it. The sounds came to an end and then, "So, we've come to this, huh?" She gasped and looked up, wondering who it was. The person who appeared looked like a fainter, darker version of herself.

"Wha-?!" She asked as she stared out into the darkness just above the horizon. Now the floor was red and it faded gently into black. The person hovered just above, making her tilt her head up to see them.

"I would've thought that by now you'd have understood. You should never have lived," the hover-person was saying. "Well, there's only one thing to do, now," the person tilted their head to the side with a sigh, before pulling out what looked like a rather blunt-looking knife.

When they did that, something jogged Tak's memory, something which she'd forgotten...but, what was that? Oh, well, it didn't matter! The most important thing was, "Hey! Who are you!? And why would you want to kill me!?"

"I suppose a few words before you're eviscerated will do, no, execrated is a much nicer one...!" The hover-person up above her said with a terrible-looking grin. It wasn't anything like her own grins, even when she'd been acting evil enough for it. Dib had seen it, after all, and she could clearly remember his recollection of her face with her own mind...

She had to shake her head as that sentence annoyed her. "What's going on?! And where in the HECK am I!?"

"You're inside of your own murder-prison," replied the person as they floated down towards her. "And I am going to kill you." They pulled up the blunt-looking knife and made ready to chop her with it.

"NO!" She shouted as she shot out her spider-legs and pushed them away. She found that the person had come around to her side and was about to grab her.

"You've made this happen for yourself!" Said the person as she barely avoided their grabbing arm. "You're the one who's doing this!"

Tak dodged another swing and pushed herself far out of their range with her PAK-legs.

"You're the one who made the mistake!" Shouted the other person. Once again, they'd closed the gap in less than an instant, and it took Tak a moment to realize that they were just behind her, on her left. "Now, sleep closely...!"

She dodged and dashed across the fading reddish landscape. "That doesn't make sense!" She told them as she skittered using her PAK-legs. It was the only way to truely keep up; the other person wasn't even using their extra legs, plus, they were trying to kill her with a blunt kitchen-knife! "This is absolutely INSANE!"

"NO!" Tak was shoved to the ground and landed on her face, "IT ISN'T!"

Tak turned her head to the side and managed to say, "What?!"

"YOU TOOK THAT NECKLACE! IT WAS ALL YOUR FAULT! THE SIGNS WERE THERE, ALL THOSE WARNINGS! BUT YOU DIDN'T HEED THEM! YOU DIDN'T EVEN STOP TO THINK THAT YOU MIGHT BE WRONG! YOU DIDN'T EVEN STOP TO THINK!" She gasped as the person above her raised their hand, kitchen knife glinting grayly up above; suddenly, just as if it hadn't been changed, but had always been so, their face darkened and became the face of Dib. She screamed as she tried to wrench them off with her arm and a twist to the side.

"That's the-" the person's statement faltered, and all faded into darkness. The look-alike, the face of Dib, along with Tak, just floated until they were enveloped in the nothingness. The feeling this time was of a relaxed muscle.

She almost sighed, but couldn't tell where in the heck she was.

She awoke to the barely-audible beeping sounds coming from somewhere. She saw that a pink glass surface was surrounding her. This was normal, as she thought about it. She must've been put inside of the Healing-stasis tube whenever that whatever it was happened. That horrifying onslaught of scene after scene of terrifying scenes, rending her consciousness into strips like paper and then showing them to her before she finally got fed up and tried to rend herself to bits-! She inwardly shuddered and the top slid open on the tube.

Someone was saying something.

{Oh, thank squeeble-snorchs! You're awake!} Exclaimed the Computer in exhausted relief. She was sure that it was exaggerating, but a quick check to her PAK revealed otherwise. {Do you KNOW how long you were out?! 38 hours and 47 minutes! THIRTY-EIGHT HOURS! I almost considered putting you into a MEDICAL FACILITY!} It ranted again, continuing to worry her, far more than those freaky nightmares.

"Nightmares...?!" Mumbled Tak as she leaned up from the Medical Stasis tube she'd been lying in. She sat up and looked around. The entire place seemed normal, nothing out of the ordinary. And, now that she was out of that stupid psychic-state, she could immediately tell that this was, in fact, the real world. She could smell the stale smell of the ship which hadn't had any outside air except its own oxygen-carbon-dioxide recyclers to circulate inside it. She could feel the totally real feeling of the tube she was sitting in, and her own weight -from the simulated gravity. Apparently, they'd put her into it after she conked out. She could even recall the exact coordinates and orders from the Control Brain inside of her own PAK.

"Man ak, that was weird...!" She mumbled again as she checked the medical read-outs. "Computer, what do you know about 'nightmares'?"

{"Nightmares?!"} Exclaimed the computer once again. {Oh, no! Don't tell me that your visualization-feed malfunctioned!?} It stated, referring to a certain part of her PAK. It was certainly a pertinent question. {What do you need to know? Although I was able to take some information from the human's computers, there's not much reference to dreams. Nightmares are simply very scary dreams, so... If it was a scary visual experience, then perhaps we should check your PAK, first?}

"Hhhm..." Tak thought, putting a hand on her chin, "I'm not sure...It reminded me of when I was ...!" Then, suddenly, a wave of knowledge hit her like a ton of bricks. "Oh." Was all she said.

{Sir...?! Sir?!} Questioned the computer worriedly, wondering why her face had suddenly lost all emotion and looked as if she was seeing another one of those scary visualizations. {You're not experiencing another visualization-feed malfunction, are you?!}

"No, no," Tak said hurriedly, shaking her head to keep that thought out. "I'm fine, but... I guess I'll need to run a full physical on my PAK...just to make sure it isn't...that..."

{You don't mean...?} Asked the computer, and the SIR-Unit Mimi stared up at her as well, worriedly.

"I'm not sure...I'm not sure..." mumbled Tak. She was still hopeful that it was a problem with her PAK, and not what she suspected it to be. After all...

Wasn't that why she'd left in the first place?

Health and Fitness examinations weren't entirely questionable; in fact, if she noticed it first, then there was a good chance that the Control Brains would be lenient...or something. Even if they were lenient, being exiled and declared no longer a part of the Irken race was not something she'd wish on anyone, let alone herself...! She'd probably be better off just getting the normal death-sentence!

She just wished it wasn't what she was sure it was... That feeling of something that had once been there, hacked off from her and left alone just to wither, like missing a large chunk of herself...pressing itself upon her mind, not allowing her to think of any other contingency. Just once, she wished that the universe would bend to her own will. Just once...!

She could manage something if they were no longer connected like that, right...? Right?!

The universe promptly snorted at this and ignored it...

That was only a false idea, formulated to make herself feel much better than she knew she could. She was a weak mind, weaker now because her other half was no longer attached psychically to her. She was too far away to feel him, and it was much better for her, she realized, than if she had been. She knew all along that she'd likely get the death-sentence. And she wanted that. But, when she died, if she was still connected to his mind, then he would feel it as well.

And someone needed to take care of Zim, even if it was a kid.

Even if it was Dib. From the first moment they'd met, it seemed like the universe was conspiring against her. Every time he foiled her plans, every time she foiled his. If Zim was Dib's con, then she was Dib's pro. She was Zim's con, and Dib was her pro. If they'd been enemies, the same things might have happened -would have happened- she was sure of it. There wasn't a psychic in the universe who couldn't recognize their own soul-mate.

He was the flip-side of the same coin.

She wanted to scream, she wanted to gag, she wanted to kill herself!

But, she was an Irken. And she would act like it.

Even if she was still stupid.

* * *

 **"Zoetrope"** , Amnesia opening theme-song, Tak's second theme-song.

*English translation*

0

Broken and lost lies

The last component, somewhere

I look for it and follow the distant stars

To the ends of a rainbow sky

0

Through the cracks, a faint light

Leaks into my vision, luring me onward

And I walk my path, as if in a daydream

0

The growing strength of my bonds,

And my ability to redo it all

Will not allow me to let go of what my heart holds

0

Help me retrieve it

0

I will connect the bits and pieces

And once I look at the ring they make

For that reason, I will change it for my sake

And spin it, again and again

0

So that I may be myself once more

0

There's nobody that can't be trusted, nobody I can't believe in

But at least my dreams have saved me

My future spilled; it fills my two hands

It's not enough with me alone

0

Before it's spilled

0

Trap me and help me, at least a little bit

This world is somewhat important

I will create a tomorrow. So I can believe

Because I'm not giving up now

0

From this crack, I won't fall down

Never again

Right now, grab a hold of my hand!

Take me with you as I am

0

Many kaleidoscopes between them

Following the reflected future to where it lies

Following and reflecting the future wherever I am

That fills the last crack

0

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Nothing else to say about this, just that I love this song and that it fits Tak's feelings on what's happening perfectly~!

Anyways, take care nows, and pretty-please Read and Review!


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